Intense Canadian Fans Wear Curling Stones on Their Heads

Canadian fans cheer during the men’s curling gold medal game against Great Britain Friday in Sochi.

The Green Bay Packers have the cheeseheads. Canadian curlers have the rockheads.

When the Canadian men’s curling team beat Britain 9-3 to win gold Friday, they were cheered on by a small legion of fans decked out in foam hats that look like curling stones, complete with red handles on top.

It was a good night to be a rockhead. Led by Brad Jacobs, the Canadian team won its third consecutive gold medal, a night after the Canadian women won gold. It marks the first time since curling became a medal sport in 1998 that Canada has finished on top in both men’s and women’s curling in the same year.

Canada is home to the vast majority of the world’s curlers. Many other Olympic curling teams spend months training and competing there every year. But no other team draws such devoted followers.

David and Deborah Stone traveled to Sochi from Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario, where the Jacobs team is based. They said they purchased their hats on curlinghats.com, and they evidently weren’t the only ones. All of the hats on the site are listed as sold out. (So is a silicone curling stone ice cube tray, for the record.)

“We go to see the Packers once a year,” David Stone said. “We’ve seen the cheeseheads. The rockheads are better.”

SPORTS, THE JOURNAL WAY

Be sure to check your Daily Fix all week long. The Fix's daily rundown of the best sportswriting on the Web is joined by features such as The Count, a look at the most revealing sports stats, as well as regular live reports of major sports events. Tell us what you think of the Fix at dailyfixlinks@gmail.com.

In baseball, there is a long-standing tradition of pro teams inviting college teams to play them in preseason exhibitions. A look at this odd tradition, and the awkward, no-win situations it creates for the pros.